Wednesday, November 17, 2010

On Thursday night, September 16, 2010 four tornadoes reportedly touched down in Athens County, Ohio, one of which struck in or near the Pine Aire Village trailer park in Athens, destroying the Reynolds family’s trailer. For almost two months, Brad and Jennifer Reynolds and their three children bounced between temporary residences. Since their trailer was uninsured, the Reynolds’ struggled to return their lives to a sense of normalcy following the disaster.

These pictures are my first edit of the Reynolds' story. They moved two different places after their trailer was destroyed before being able to buy a house thanks to $17,000 in relief funds from the state of Ohio. I'll be continuing to follow their story as the family settles into their new home.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

In the first photo Diane Lee of Athens, Ohio and Jack Blue of Belleville, W.Va. dance during a bluegrass jam on Sunday afternoon, October 17, 2010 in Millfield, Ohio. Onstage are Josh Birnbaum (Left) of Athens, Ohio and Cliff Longenette of Tuppers Plains, Ohio. I went to the jam about a month ago with Josh and loved the place. Hope to get back there again soon.

My father, Kevin Traylor of Rock Island, Ill. poses for portraits in front of an abandoned gas station on Columbus Rd. and Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio. My first introduction to creative photography came while looking through my father's photography projects from a few 35mm film classes he took in college. Most of his images placed a person doing something stoically out of context in a graphic environmental backdrop. This is an homage to his style, which is very indicative of his sense of humor and personality. I shot these about a month ago when he and my mom and brother came out to visit. Listening to some of the professors talk about the importance of documenting their own families made me want to do a portrait series on my family. Hopefully these are just the beginning of a really interesting personal project.

About Me

I'm a graduate student in photojournalism at Ohio University's School of Visual Communication. This blog is a documentation of my journey through my coursework and the lives of those I photograph. I'm very interested in exploring culture and a wide array of community issues. My hope is that my photographs will lead to better understanding between people of different groups. Thanks for looking.